Ambitious Darren Fletcher will not rest on laurels as he collects 50th cap

Published on Monday 6 September 2010 19:42

ANYONE greeting Darren Fletcher with the cry of 'Show us your medals' would be sorely disappointed by his response.

• Darren Fletcher: "I'm proud of what I have achieved, but there is always more that can be done." Pic: Getty

It's not that the Manchester United midfielder is short of mementoes from a career already laden with high achievement at the age of 26. But Fletcher, who will collect another souvenir at Hampden tonight when he wins a landmark 50th cap for Scotland, does not view his chosen profession in materialistic terms.

"If you came to my house, you would have no idea I was a footballer," he says. "I'm not one for having things on display. There are no strips, medals or anything like that. I don't keep any of my medals, my mum has them all.

"Of course they mean a lot to me, but during my career it's a case of enjoying success whenever it comes along and then asking myself what I can do next. If I had them on display, it would be like I was sitting back and saying 'Look what I've won, it's great'.

"I'm proud of what I've achieved but there is always more that can be done. I think that attitude is something you pick up from being at Manchester United, it comes from the manager and others, although some of it is from within myself.

"Because of the success they have at United, you have to keep that level of hunger and appetite for more. You can only enjoy success for a short space of time, maybe during the summer when you will sit back and reflect on it, but pretty soon it's a case of having to do it all over again." Fletcher, who made his debut for Scotland seven years ago as a 60th minute substitute for Maurice Ross in a 0-0 draw against Norway in Oslo, will become the 26th player to reach the 50-cap mark in the country's international history when he leads the side in the Euro 2012 qualifier against Liechtenstein. It earns him a place on the SFA's Roll of Honour, not to be confused with the Scottish Football Hall of Fame.

He will receive a gold medal along with a lifetime entitlement to free tickets for Scotland's home matches, while his portrait will join the other 25 displayed in the Hampden museum.

"I was aware of the portraits in the museum," he added, "but I actually have no idea what else you get, which is a good thing. If they were saying this or that is going to happen, it would be a distraction.

"So while it's a nice moment to reach a milestone like this with Scotland, my primary concern is winning against Liechtenstein and getting three points on the board, rather than thinking about winning my 50th cap.That's something I will think about at another time.

"I'm still relatively young, so hopefully I can get many more caps and there will be a couple of appearances in the finals of major tournaments to go with them." For Fletcher, who is now playing under his fifth Scotland manager in Craig Levein, the failure to qualify for World Cup or European Championship finals with his country remains the one glaring omission on a CV which has seen him win every major club honour with United. He appreciates the deepening gloom which surrounds the prospects of Scotland returning to the main stage any time soon but remains defiantly upbeat.

"I can understand it, because we've not had any success for a long time and each campaign brings more disappointment," he said.

"Ambition seems to fade a little bit because of that. We've been unlucky in some campaigns and had some disastrous ones too. But if we can get that bit of luck we need and deserve, allied with some good performances, then I think we can get to a tournament finals.

"Once we get there, it won't be a case of thinking you have done your job just getting there, you want to kick on again. It might be the catalyst for good things to come, we just need to break that duck now.

"I'm still a dreamer when it comes to football. If we got to the finals, I'd be thinking to myself 'we could get through this group, then maybe beat that team on penalties in the next round' and so on."

Fletcher, who became Scotland's youngest captain since 1886 when he led the side against Estonia in 2004, will wear the armband for the 12th time tonight. He recognises only victory will be acceptable against the Group I minnows, but insists it is unreasonable to believe it should be a formality.

"Any time you expect a comfortable win, it doesn't happen that way," he said. "You have to win the battle, break the opposition down and break their game plan. If fans come and demand or expect a big win, I'm afraid that's just not the way it happens in football. We are expected to beat Liechtenstein, so the pressure is on us, but it doesn't necessarily mean three points is a given."

Having seen Levein's predecessor George Burley fail in his bid to bring a more expansive approach to Scotland's play, Fletcher is supportive of the current manager's more circumspect tactics which saw the Euro 2012 campaign commence with an insipid 0-0 draw in Lithuania on Friday night.

"George tried to play with flair, with a 4-4-2 using wingers, and it backfired a bit," added Fletcher. "Fair play to him for having the courage to try it, but it didn't work out. Now the new manager wants us to get back to basics, starting with not conceding goals. That gives you a good base.

"The manager is doing it bit by bit, starting from the back.He says there will be more to come from us in the future, but we need to get the basics right first.

"If we can continue on from what we showed in Lithuania, in terms of being solid, organised and hard to beat, then if we start to pick up a few wins, the confidence will come from that. Then we can maybe start to show a bit more flair. But I don't think you'll see loads of flair from us. That's not our style, to be honest."

Fletcher joins Gordon Strachan and Asa Hartford on the 50-cap mark. Colin Hendry (51) and Joe Jordan (52) are just ahead of him.

Fletcher could soon be joined in the SFA Hall of Fame by team-mates Kenny Miller (48) and James McFadden (47).

The full Hall of Fame list reads: Kenny Dalglish 102, Jim Leighton 91, Alex McLeish 77, Paul McStay 76, Tom Boyd 72, Christian Dailly 67, David Weir 66, Willie Miller 65, Danny McGrain 62, Richard Gough 61, Ally McCoist 61, John Collins 58, Roy Aitken 57, Gary McAllister 57, Denis Law 55, Maurice Malpas 55, Billy Bremner 54, Graeme Souness 54, Kevin Gallacher 53, Alan Rough 53, George Young 53, Joe Jordan 52, Colin Hendry 51, Asa Hartford 50, Gordon Strachan 50.